NEW DELHI : All future road and rail bridges or any cross Structure on 101 rivers, which have been notified as national waterways, will have to comply with the new height and width clearance Norms to ensure barges and other vessels can operate without hindrance. The Inland Waterways Authority of India has written to all government agencies to submit their detailed plans and drawings for getting no-objection certificates before carrying out any construction. “The central Act and rules specify the vertical and horizontal clearance norms between two piers. No structure will be cleared that can impact navigation and the norms have been laid for different categories of rivers,” IWAI vice-president Prabir Pandey said. The decision is being implemented considering that several structures have come up in the past on river stretches with low height and these make navigation almost impossible. There was no such norm till recently. In a recent communication to government departments, the IWAI said the specifications were being followed keeping in mind long-term requirements and “as cross structures cannot be demolished and raised each time the fairway is upgraded”.